Alfred Wegener
Hello Dr. Wegener! It’s your big day and you are presenting to the German Geological society about your
revolutionary hypothesis, the hypothesis of continental drift. You and an army of geologists, archaeologists and
oceanographers are trying to convince the board of directors that your hypothesis of continental drift is valid.
To prepare for the presentation, think about this question:
1. Explain your hypothesis of continental drift. What is it and how is it different from previous
understandings of the world?
Note: During the presentation, your role will primarily be to call on your “teams” to provide their share of evidence
to support your hypothesis.
After lots of evidence have been compiled to support continental drift hypothesis, there was still no evidence to
explain HOW continents can move. Sadly, Wegener died before he could provide a mechanism for his hypothesis.
(After the skeptics have challenged you by saying you have no evidence for HOW it happens, drop down on the
floor and play dead.)
Team 1 | Board of Directors
Your team represents the board of directors, a group of scientists who are very skeptical about this whole
continental drift business. For the following lines of evidence, come up with some counterarguments.
1. Jigsaw Puzzle Fit: one of the teams propose that the continents fit together like jigsaw puzzles. For
example, South America and Africa fit together a little too well to be a coincidence. Therefore they must
have been together at one point in time.
2. Matching Geological Structures and Rocks: one of the teams found that the rock formations and
mountain ranges on opposite sides of the Atlantic are pretty much the same. Therefore, they must have
been together at some point in time.
3. Matching Fossils: One team has found that fossils of the same animal are found on opposite sides of the
Atlantic Ocean. This team proposes that the only explanation for why the same animal is on opposite sides
of the ocean is that the continents had been together at one point in time.
4. Climatic Evidence for Continental Drift: One team proposes that rock formations left behind by ancient
glaciers occur in seemingly random parts of the world, until you piece the continents together.
Team 2 | Jigsaw Puzzle Fit (Textbook p. 507)
You are a team of Geologists. After years spent studying the maps of the world, your team realize there is
something about the edges of the continents that seem to suggest they had been together at some point.
To prepare for the presentation, think about these questions:
1. What is it about the edges of the continent that stand out to you? Where in the world is this the most
apparent?
2. How do we account for the parts of the world where it does not seem to fit?
Note: You are a team of scientists who have found evidence that support Wegener’s hypothesis. He will call on you
for support, and when he does, please present your findings to the board of directors.
Team 3 | Matching Geological Structures and Rocks (Textbook Page 508)
You are a team of Geologists.
You have recently returned from an expedition (really a holiday, but the German Geological society don’t need to
know that) to Scotland, Ireland, Greenland and Norway, the west coast of Africa and finally the east coast of North
America.
While having way too much fun on your “expedition” you notice that there is something about the rocks and
mountains of the areas you visited that seem to support the continental drift theory (a holiday well spent!).
To prepare for the presentation, think about these questions
1. What is it about the rocks in these areas you visited that seem to support continental drift theory?
2. What is it about the location of mountain ranges that seem to support continental drift theory? Where do
these mountain ranges occur and where do you think they would’ve occurred millions of years ago?
Note: You are a team of scientists who have found evidence that support Wegener’s hypothesis. He will call on you
for support, and when he does, please present your findings to the board of directors.
Team 4 | Matching Fossils (Textbook Page 508)
You are a team of archaeologists, who have recently returned from fossil-digging expeditions all around the world.
Some of you went to North America, others to Northern Europe, some to South America and one of you even went
to Antarctica! Now that you’ve all come home, you get the chance to compare your findings and realize something
strange…
To prepare for the presentation, think about these questions?
1. Did you all find different fossils, or were there similar ones?
2. One of you have just returned from South America and another from Africa. Both of you have dug up a
Cynognathus fossil. How do you explain this coincidence? How do you think the board of directors might
respond?
3. One of you have found a fossil that appears to be a fern… in Antarctica. What is a fern doing in Antarctica?!
How does this support continental drift theory?
Note: You are a team of scientists who have found evidence that support Wegener’s hypothesis. He will call on you
for support, and when he does, please present your findings to the board of directors.
Team 5| Climatic Evidence for Continental Drift (Textbook Page 509)
You are a team of geologists who study the rock markings left behind by ancient glaciers.
Some of you took a holiday… er… a business trip, to South America, South Africa, India, Australia and one of you
was crazy enough to go to Antarctica. While there, you find some rock markings left behind by ancient glaciers…
To prepare for the presentation, think about these questions.
1. What are glaciers doing in warm areas such as South America?
2. What do your findings say about Wegener’s continental drift theory?
Note: You are a team of scientists who have found evidence that support Wegener’s hypothesis. He will call on you
for support, and when he does, please present your findings to the board of directors.
Team 6 | Tectonic Plates as “A Possible Mechanism” for Continental Drift (Textbook Page 510)
You are a group of geophysicists who have travelled back in time from the 1930’s! You are going to provide us with
findings from the future that support the continental drift hypothesis!
To prepare for the presentation, think about these questions.
1. What didn’t scientists back in Wegener’s time that you know in the 1930’s? What is so important about
these findings?
2. Provide at least two pieces of evidence to support your proposed mechanism for continental movement.
Note: Your team does not “appear” (will not be visible to the German Geological society) until after Wegener has
“died”. After his death, you will interrupt the meeting, introduce yourselves and present your findings.
Team 7 | Team Sea floor spreading: an explanation (Textbook Page 512-3)
You are a group of geologists lead by American Geology professor Harry Hess and Canadian geologist J. Tuzo
Wilson. You have travelled back in time from the 1960’s! Harry Hess proposed a mechanism for how continents
move.
To prepare for the presentation, think about these questions.
1. How does sea floor spreading work?
2. How does this help to explain how continents have spread apart over time?
Note: Your team does not “appear” (will not be visible to the German Geological society) until after Wegener has
“died”. After his death, team 6 will interrupt the meeting and after they are finished, you will jump in.
Team 8 | Evidence from Ocean rock and Sediments (Textbook page 511)
You are a group of oceanographers who have travelled back in time from the 1940’s!
You’ve been involved in mapping and taking samples from the ocean floor, particularly around the mid-Atlantic
ridge. As you study the rocks in the area, you notice a strange pattern emerging from the rocks you collect close to
the mid-Atlantic ridge vs. further from it…
To prepare for the presentation, think about these questions:
1. What is the mid-Atlantic ridge and how did it form?
2. What is it about the rocks around the mid-Atlantic ridge that suggest they are moving apart due to the
magma welling up from below?
Note: Your team does not “appear” (will not be visible to the German Geological society) until after Wegener has
“died”. After his death, team 6 will interrupt the meeting and after they are finished. Team 7 will then be presenting
about tectonic plates. Your findings support Team 7’s findings, so you will jump in after they have finished.
Team 9 | Evidence from Paleomagnetism (Textbook page 511-2)
You are a group of oceanographers who have travelled back in time from the 1950’s! You’ve been studying the
rocks around the mid-Atlantic ridge and notice something peculiar about magnetic properties of the rocks around
the area.
To prepare for the presentation, think about these questions:
1. What is it about the rocks around the mid-Atlantic ridge that seem very strange?
Note: Your team does not “appear” (will not be visible to the German Geological society) until after Wegener has
“died”. After his death, team 6 will interrupt the meeting and after they are finished. Team 7 will then be presenting
about tectonic plates. Your findings support Team 7’s findings, so you will jump in after they have finished.